NHL EDGE: Xhekaj has hardest shot resulting in goal of season

NHL.com's fantasy staff covers NHL EDGE stats leaders and provides analysis of the biggest storylines around the League throughout the 2026-27 season.

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Arber Xhekaj set the hardest shot resulting in a goal of the season, reaching a shot speed of 97.22 miles per hour, when he scored against the Utah Mammoth on Thursday.

It was Xhekaj’s hardest shot attempt of the season (he ranks in 96th percentile among defensemen in that category) and the hardest shot across the entire NHL on the Nov. 5 slate.

The Montreal Canadiens defenseman, who tied the game 2-2 with 2:50 remaining in the first period when his one-timer shot from the left point beat Utah goalie Sebastian Cossa, surpassed the previous hardest shot resulting in a goal this season from Travis Sanheim (95.71 mph on Oct. 1). The Canadiens defeated the Mammoth 5-4 in overtime.

It was the first goal of the season for Xhekaj, and the 25-year-old is also a standout in average shot speed; Xhekaj, who’s 6-foot-4 and 240 lbs, ranks in the 94th percentile in that category (74.48 mph; NHL average at position: 68.35 mph).

It was the fifth-hardest shot of Xhekaj’s career (regular season and playoffs combined). Xhekaj’s hardest shot of his career came during the 2023-24 season, when he reached 102.23 mph (third-hardest shot attempt in entire NHL that season). Last season, Xhekaj ranked in the